Searching Trials Registers and Regulatory Agency Sources to Identify Clinical Trials for Systematic Reviews and Other Clinical and Research Questions Training Day, University of York

Since the launch of ClinicalTrials.gov in 2000, as a result of US legislation calling for better access to information about clinical trials, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of being able to identify clinical trials and their results. Further legislation required the submission of ‘basic results’ for certain clinical trials and led to the scope of the ClinicalTrials.gov trials registry being expanded in 2008 to include study results posted by the investigators, irrespective of whether those results had been published. ClinicalTrials.gov, is, therefore, an increasingly rich source of results of trials to include in systematic reviews and, for example for Cochrane Reviews, is now recognized as a mandatory source to search.

The WHO International Clinical Trials Registers Portal enables users to search simultaneously across a range of clinical trials registers, including ClinicalTrials.gov. Recent research, however, has shown that for optimal retrieval it is essential to search both sources separately.

In addition to these resources there is a wide variety of national and international registers together with registers from a number of drug companies and other organizations. The course will also cover information available through regulatory agency sources such as those provided by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and will explore new initiatives to provide access to trial-related information such as AllTrials and OpenTrials.

This course will address the most effective way to search these resources, given the different interfaces available and how these differences impact not only on retrieval but also on associated aspects such as managing the search results.

The course will provide opportunities to learn new techniques, to discuss best approaches, to share insights and to assess variations in current best practice. The course will consist of short presentations, small group and plenary discussion and hand-on exercises.

YHEC Training Expertise

Our regular training programme offers courses in York in well-equipped rooms and computer classrooms. All of our courses have limited delegate places available to ensure that sessions permit discussion and interaction within the group. We can also offer these courses and bespoke courses at your own site.

Other Health Economics Training at York: YHEC courses are generally introductory. Five-day expert workshops, distance learning and MSc courses in health economics are offered by health economists at the Centre for Health Economics and the Department of Economics and Related Studies at the University of York.